If you thought life as a penguin was all swimming and sliding down ice chutes then think again, this video will change your opinion.

A National Geographic video released over the weekend has set the internet alight after it showed two male penguins engaged in a brutal “flap” fight for the affection of a female penguin.

Like an episode of The Bold and the Beautiful the male penguin comes home to find his wife with another male bird.

Then, the situation turns to physicality very quickly and the penguins trade blows at a speed of eight hits per second, according to National Geographic.

Watch the drama (warning: graphic images):

A fight breaks out when a husband comes home and finds his wife with another penguin. pic.twitter.com/9ejYGcJ5TJ

— National Geographic TV (@NatGeoTV) November 4, 2016

The “husband” and the “homewrecker” pummell each other with their wings, before calling on the female penguin to make her choice.

“Most birds have hollow bones in their wings to make them hollow for flight, but penguins don’t fly, their wings contain solid bone,” the narrator said.

“They use them like baseball bats, to club each other, delivering up to eight blows a second.

“Thick blubber protects vital organs from the pummelling.”

After calling the female back over, she chooses her new boy-toy over her husband.

But don’t get in the way of a jilted lover. The wife’s choice only makes the husband angrier and he follows the pair into the burrow and unleashes more fury.

This time he attacks his rival with the beak and receives beak shots in return.

The female penguin won’t change her mind, though, and the husband if left to walk off in despair. He just had his wife stolen.

‘That video really messed me up’

The video has been retweeted a whopping 210,000 times on Twitter and shared thousands more across other social media platforms.

Reactions have ranged from concern, to amusement and to utter disgust.

People have been beside themselves due to the way the narration deals with the subject matter and also at how willing the combat becomes.

That video really messed me up. Please post something adorable ASAP 🐧😭 @NatGeoChannel pic.twitter.com/9BdwORQG5z

— Kamilah (@kamily) November 5, 2016

https://twitter.com/Gomu2Noooo/status/795203433951203329

first I was crying over a tv show series finale and now I'm crying over penguins what is wrong with me https://t.co/8DhYKhccdf

— ally 😵‍💫 (@ally_david1) November 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/awesomeJULLIANA/status/795201768896401408

– with ABC